Max E. Stone
has just released THE BLEEDING in audio
format narrated by Noah
Michael Levine. Reviewers
describe the novel, which is the second in his New England series, as a “psychological thriller with more than
a touch of horror” and "well drawn" characters. Stone claims that he pens the
characters and stories that are “already in his head.”
Stone, who’s been writing since he
was nine, is currently working on a new novel,
Black Roses, which is his fifth book but the fourth story in the series. When
he’s not writing, he likes to spend time with family and friends, do yoga, and
watch the funniest shows he can on TV – to help relax.
Don’t miss the
excerpt from THE BLEEDING following his interview.
Q: Reviewers
claim that THE BLEEDING “is a whole new level of horror!” about “how evil
begets evil.” What drives you to write in this genre? Would you compare your
books to those of Stephen King?
Max E.
Stone: I’m always so
honored to hear things like that. I honestly didn’t even know that what I was
writing was a whole new level of anything, horror or otherwise. The characters
and stories already in my head drive me to write and I just keep the pen and
paper handy. And, though I love his books, I wouldn’t compare myself to the
amazing Stephen King. He has his lane and level and I have mine and I think I’m
pretty good for where I am. I’m still growing. But I do hope to get there.
Q: “Plot was
brilliant,” says a reviewer. How did you conceive of your plot?
Max E. Stone: This plot was something that started when I was
9 years old with my first book, August to Life. It started as a story about a
family. Then, over the course of about a few more years or so, I added more
characters. Suddenly, there were three families in total. But there was one
character that both intrigued and frightened me and others who I let read
pieces of the work. His name was Derek Warren. Absolutely the most heinous
character I’d ever put together. So I asked myself “why does this person do
what they do?” and “what will they do next?” That was how THE BLEEDING came
about. I just thought of how bad he could possibly be in addition to how bad he
already was as well as the reasons why.
Q: How do you
create a “full cast of strange and wonderful characters” that will engage
readers? Do you base your characters on people you know, or are they entirely
drawn from your imagination? Are they heroes or villains?
Max E.
Stone: I combine the
two processes. The characters’ names and a few characteristics start out solely
from my imagination while the rest of their profiles are combinations of
different people that I know, good and bad. In that way, I try my best to make them as human as
possible. For example, Derek Warren has some of the traits of the most loveable
people in my life. Yet, he’s been warped and, in turn, has warped those good
things about himself into hurting those around him.
Q: What makes a
“thriller?” How do you create “one hell of a thrill ride,” as one reviewer
describes THE BLEEDING?
Max E.
Stone: The mind games
that happen all throughout the story. You’ll think it’s going one way and then
you’ll end up on a totally different path of exploration toward the end.
Q: What makes
your story credible? How important is plausibility to engaging readers? What
will make a reader stop reading thriller fiction?
Max E.
Stone: Despite the
thrills and craziness that go on, at its core, THE BLEEDING is a story of
normal characters and how they cope with the worst of times in their pasts, how
they live life, how they fall in love, etc. That’s everyone, no matter where
they come from. That is what, I believe, makes the story credible.
As
far as engaging readers, it is absolutely important to do so. In thriller
fiction, even with the on-the-edge-of-your-seat moments that make up the genre,
I think it’s most important for a reader to have a character or situation within
the book that they can identify with. Otherwise, they’ll stop reading.
Q: Do you use
setting to help tell your story? Are your characters a product of their
surroundings?
Max E.
Stone: I do look up
settings and I’ll use the characteristics of those settings in a given place.
And, for the most part, the characters aren’t products of their surroundings.
For some of them, it’s upbringing that they have to push past in order to be
better and do better. Some of them do that, some of them don’t.
Q: How helpful
is humor to creating your characters? Is humor useful in a horror thriller?
Max E.
Stone: Extremely
helpful. Humor makes them more real because people make jokes especially in
horrible situations. That’s what makes them human and, for some, that’s what
helps them cope with the situation.
You
have to have some relief from the horrible; some humor despite the horror to
truly grasp that horror and appreciate the relief for however long it may be.
Q: Did you
write THE BLEEDING to entertain your readers or did you embed a few messages
along the way?
Max E.
Stone: I think the
point of any story, movie, or artistic creation should be to draw the reader,
listener, or viewer into a world that they may not be aware of. That’s what art
does. I would like to think that I did embed a few messages along the way as
that was definitely my attempt.
Q: What’s next?
Max E.
Stone: I’m working on
Black Roses, which is the fifth book I’ve written but the fourth story in the
series. The synopsis is still in the works, but much of the characters will be
the same with a new case for Detective Bennett that will be be absolutely a
shake-up.
Q: Tell us about Max E. Stone. What do you
like to do when you’re not writing or working?
Max E.
Stone: I like to hang
out with my friends and family and also do yoga. It’s very relaxing and does
the brain very well. Also, I like to watch the funniest things I can find on TV
or in the movies. Writing serious situations takes a lot out of me so
periodically I like to just laugh and get all of that out of my system for a
bit.
About Max E.
Stone
Max
doesn’t remember ever not creating a story, pen or no pen.
A writer
and lover of books since the age of nine, Max first set pen to page as a
hobby, constructing stories that were anything but fit for children.
Entertaining classmates while simultaneously concerning surrounding adults
with blood-ridden tales of gory mysteries and heavy suspense that “just
came to mind,” Max, with the help of family and the encouraging words of
an inspiring fifth grade teacher, continue to develop this gift.
Little
was it known at the time, but said gift would become a lifeline.
From
horrific trauma in Max’s teen years, writing played an instrumental part
in the difficult recovery and the Warrens, Bennetts, and Johnsons, three
interconnected families all with issues, mysteries, and secrets that
threaten their livelihood and lives, were born.
Max
reads everything and everyone and relishes the journey, learning something
new each day.
About THE BLEEDING
How
does a maximum-security inmate commit a murder on the outside? The answer is
more terrifying than you think.
Mark my words....
Derek
Warren is smooth, charming, and a master manipulator.
But
is he a killer?
I
swear....
If
so, how is the former businessman committing murder from a maximum-security
prison cell?
And
what, if anything, does he have planned next?
You'll never see it coming....
Detective
Stephen Bennett is sure he has the answers to these questions.
But
the path of dead bodies leads him to a truth far more disturbing than he
suspected....
You will bleed....
Excerpt
"Mom...Mommy?" the trembling boy
whimpered in jagged breaths.
His blonde head popped to the surface of
blue bed sheets at the tormented wails that broke through his fitful rest on a
freezing October night.
And then, silence.
He swallowed hard.
"Mommy?" he bawled this time,
pushing covers aside and preparing to leave his bed to investigate the noise.
Again,
the deafening and disturbing quiet.
The youngster eased toward his room's door,
turned the knob, and inched the opening wider until he beheld the source of
the racket.
"Mommy!" he screamed.
Supported by the wall facing her son's room,
his mother attempted to straighten her
body and a mane of matted blonde curls with unstable hands.
Tender blue eyes, warm as a spring evening,
waxed ice cold when she saw him
watching her.
"Derek!" she fired, tremulous, from
lips that swelled and seeped blood.
At the tears in her boy's baby blues, she softened.
"Daddy and I got a little loud. That's
all. We're sorry we woke you. Go on back to
bed, sweetie."
Without
question, the child obeyed and feigned belief of her lie.
The scar above his own left eye reminded him
of the consequences if he didn't.
Barreling footsteps
rocked the floorboards and Derek stopped
in his tracks. The red tint
in his plump cheeks faded to a sick pale.
"Kim,
baby?" a man drawled in a wicked singsong. "Where are you?"
"Derek, shut the damn door!" the
mother howled, fear setting her ablaze. "Do it
now!"
In seconds, with the
end
of a brownish gold mullet
clinging to the
back of
his damp
neck and venomous
blue-‐gray eyes, David Warren
appeared
and overtook Kim
in three
strides
of his powerful legs.
He snatched a handful of
her
hair and shoved her into the wall face-‐first.
She slid to
the floor when he unhanded
her.
Blood dripped in the crack where her face landed
and followed her body to the ground.
"Daddy, stop!" Derek cried.
"Honey, please!" Kim begged David,
crawling while covering an eye. "Not in front of Derek!"
Dark red liquid wept through her fingers.
She cowered to a fetal position, not knowing
when, where, or how he would strike next.
Wait for the
blow...
Be somewhere else...
Dealt as predicted, strike one landed at her
nose; the bone's split audible.
"This is my house," David told her
in all sincerity, catching Kim's wounded face
in his hands and thumbing the deep red juices that oozed from her nose and eye.
"You are my wife and you must do as you're told. If you
continue to disobey, this will keep
happening. Understand?"
He didn't wait for her classic quivering nod.
They had this talk before.
It took years for her to get the message.
But, nonetheless, she got it.
She knew her
place.
He freed her, straightened,
and turned to the eight-‐year-‐old who
made no
move to
leave the
scene.
"Go to bed, sport," the father
ordered then directed a playful smirk to the
boy's mother; the same masculine
grin that won her heart at a church picnic years ago.
The one that had later been accompanied by a
large diamond ring and a heartwarming marriage
proposal.
"Mom and I need some time alone."
With those calm words, David lifted his wife
from the floor, dragged her to himself,
and crashed his mouth down on hers; his tongue lapping up her blood.
When he finished the unwilling invasion of
her mouth, she shuddered and addressed a crippled "I'm fine,
sweetie" to her son before both parents
vanished around a corner, leaving
Derek alone and frightened in a puddle
of his own urine.
Nothing out of the ordinary for a night at
the Warren house.
His mother spent years asking for help.
She beseeched relatives, friends, and the church.
The kids in Sunday School loved David Warren
and wished to God they'd had the same stroke of good fortune in managing
"the coolest pastor in the world" for a dad.
The women at the church talked of his mom's
"luck" in having landed the minister for a husband.
The police rendered no help either.
Most of them knew David from his work in the community.
But Derek knew the truth.
And eight years of age would not stop him
from saving the life of the woman who gave him
his.
Links
Purchase Links
Audible site for THE BLEEDING
Author Links
Twitter @maxestone
